What do you think?
Rate this book
Spruce took aim with an inky spear: Tree poems in alliterative verse
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 6, 2025
This lovely book of tree poems was a delight to read. I dog-eared pages of my favorites and there were many — a couple back to back so I didn’t know which way to fold it. I liked the intro explaining the alliterative verse and how to read the poems given their spacing. And the ending described something behind each beautiful verse, giving us insight into the writer’s thoughts as he penned each.
It was an especially fun read because I know the author from his time as a doctoral student in a department I used to work in, doing communications. Here, he studied trees. I believe his advisor was one of my favorite faculty. I can imagine them talking about trees and their stories. I think this is a beautiful, special, one-of-kind book. The cover has a nice feel to it.
Judd brings his imagination to each poem and I think readers will appreciate the obvious love and care that crafted each one.
I want to add a few of my favorite lines:
“Was it Wolf whose paw left a print in the path? …
I clasp my hood closer as the conifers thicken”
“But the possum feels content with his private Parthenon
And the insects’ hymn in the summer night’s heat”
“Raccoon comprehended not a word that he heard
But rubbed his paws at the ripening mangoes”
So many more. I suggest reading the notes in back first or just reading a second time.
It was an especially fun read because I know the author from his time as a doctoral student in a department I used to work in, doing communications. Here, he studied trees. I believe his advisor was one of my favorite faculty. I can imagine them talking about trees and their stories. I think this is a beautiful, special, one-of-kind book. The cover has a nice feel to it.
Judd brings his imagination to each poem and I think readers will appreciate the obvious love and care that crafted each one.
I want to add a few of my favorite lines:
“Was it Wolf whose paw left a print in the path? …
I clasp my hood closer as the conifers thicken”
“But the possum feels content with his private Parthenon
And the insects’ hymn in the summer night’s heat”
“Raccoon comprehended not a word that he heard
But rubbed his paws at the ripening mangoes”
So many more. I suggest reading the notes in back first or just reading a second time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review